Paperback

Overview

Art of War: Eyewitness U.S. Combat Art from the Revolution through the Twentieth Century by H. Avery Chenoweth

From the wall paintings of ancient Egypt to the grand paintings of the nineteenth-century military engagements to today�s historical re-creations, art has been widely used to document armed conflict. Such depictions of warfare are frequently melodramatic, ennobling the combatants and celebrating the victorsif not war itself. This kind of art tends to whitewash or romanticize the ugly business of war, rarely portraying events as they actually occurred or capturing the human emotions typical of such conflict.

Combat artwhich for the purpose of this book refers to art created by an eyewitness to battlenot only conveys the drama and pathos of a scene, but also serves as a valuable historical record. Rather than simply glamorizing combat, such art provides penetrating insights into the real-life hardshipsthe blood, sweat, and tearsof the men and women who have looked war in the face.

Art of War: Eyewitness U.S. Combat Art from the Revolution through the Twentieth Century traces the history of American combat art across three centuries, from precolonial America through the end of the twentieth century, with every major conflict represented. Author Col. H. Avery Chenoweth, USMCR (Ret.), has here assembled an unparalleled collection of American eyewitness combat art, including artworks from all branches of the U.S. armed services and by the numerous civilian artists who covered war. In addition to such well-known artists as Frederic Remington, Kerr Eby, Keith Ferris, John Singer Sargent, Albert K. Murray, and Tom Lea, Chenoweth brings to light many powerful images by lesser-known artists that have never before been published. In addition to gathering together this outstanding collection of artwork in one place for the first time, Chenoweth has placed each piece within its historical context, arguing for combat art�s continued relevance in an age dominated by mechanical reproduction.

Lavishly illustrated with more than three hundred full-color and black-and-white reproductions of drawings, sketches, and paintings, as well as scores of archival photographs; packed with intimate biographical profiles of both military and civilian artists, including details of their service and firsthand experiences in the heat of battle; and brought into perspective with an overarching look at the history of a nation through the lens of its many armed conflicts at home and abroad, Art of War is an invaluable historical resource that presents some of the most poignant and personal images of battle ever collected in a single volume.

About the Author

Col. H. Avery Chenoweth, Sr., is the former officer-in-charge of the Marine Corps First Combat Art Team. A Marine combat veteran of the Korean War, Chenoweth also served as a combat artist covering the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. He attended the University of the South and the Yale School of Painting, and received an A.B. in art history from Princeton University. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Col. John W. Thomason Award for Artistic Achievement. From the wall paintings of ancient Egypt to the grand paintings of the nineteenth-century military engagements to today�s historical re-creations, art has been widely used to document armed conflict.